The Venice Bienalle is a much lauded international event that originated in 1895 to promote tourism. These days, tourism is certainly not an issue, but the Bienalle is certainly an important reason to travel to Venice between May and Novmber. MIT has represented the US three times. This year, Paul Ha, the MIT contemporary art LIST museum director was the American Pavillion curator. H selected Joan Jonas, a pioneer of video and performance art and one time MIT instructor, who at 79, created what was easily one of the best and most memorable exhibits at this year's Bienalle, which was themed All the World's Future.
Jonas installation certainly reflects the Bienalle theme and brings you through four multimedia rooms reflecting fragility, loss, regeneration and conservation. It is an emotional, multi layered experience. Images of our delicate environment are layered with fragility of age seen in conjunction with video of youth interspersed with Joan Jonas in the winter of her life. It is a visually charged, highly personal yet universal conversation, where each viewer is free to take away what speaks to them.
Although there were many notable pavilions, the Japanese "Key in Hand" by Berlin artist Chiharu Shiota had a sense of beauty and emotionality difficult to put into words. The exhibit took two months to install with its 15-thousand keys. Endless red string acts as a linear origami and along with other familiar daily life object, brings the viewer through a multilayered dream-like sense of the known and the unknown - life and death - light and darkeness and the possibility of spiritual brightness. According to the curator, "this is a light that is inherent not only in tremendous anxiety that plagues Japanese people but in the precarious state of things all over the world."
Other notable exhibits were Australia - voted most popular at the May opening - Switzerland, Denmark and Holland. Look them up and take a tour.
The experience is also personal. Note this Calder bedframe, made for and used by Peggy Guggenheim in this room. A unique woman for any age, she was born in 1898 to a wealthy New York family. Her father went down in the Titanic and she was the niece of Soloman R. Guggenheim who would establish the famed NY Guggenheim. Peggy made Venice her home. She evolved, traded and created this collection between 1938 and 1946. Exhibited in her home on the Grand Canal, it is one of Venice's most visited attractions - so plan on getting there early or do as we did and find a group that obtains unique access. To find out more about this unque woman, look up Anton Gil, who was is her official biographer.
The Palzzo Grassi is a physical space worth experiencing as it strips an ancient structure to its bare essence with exposed brick and wooden beams. Director Marco Ferraris introduces us to the current exhibit, Slip of the Tounge, curated by Danish-Vietnamese Dan Ho, who was the contributor of the Danish Biennale exhibit.
Palazzo Furtuny in some ways is reminiscent of the Musee d'Orsay. An ancient home in San Marco, it is a gothic building transformed by Mario Fortuny into his own atelier of photography, paintings, stage design and and textiles - some of which are subtly seen in several of the galleries behind the work. The contemporary art is the big surprise. Some is intermixed with ancient art, others invite you into their own unique space. Allow for time to stroll and enjoy. 
The Armenain Pavillion won the Golden Lion for the Best In Show. Amenity is an installation of 18 artists works that speaks to the Armenian diaspora. These exhibits are interspersed with the permanent collection which is considered to be the cultural center of the Armenian people. The Pavillion is located on the island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni at the Mekhhitarist Monastery, founded in 1717 by Mekhinar who was born in the Ottoman Empire and came to Venice during the hostilities between the Turks and Venetians. He was given the outlying island of San Lazzaro where the focus was to translate western Christian works into Armenian and still remains the headquarters of this congregation. The winning of this prestigious award was highly controversial. Certianly the art work and it's installation was comparatively uneven. However, the history of an people and the monestary itself is worth a visit at any time. There must be reasons why it was the only Venetian monastic institute spared by Napoleon and Lord Byron chose to spend time here.
What art visit would be complete without a visit to an artist studio? Giovanni Soccol lives wit Margarite in an artist garrison that is hundreds of years old. On the top floor, skylights offer incredible northern light. Two large rooms would have been used for painting and exhibiting work, while small rooms are reserved for living.
A contemporary painter, one of the things that makes Giovanni unique is his mixing of paints by hand from oils and natural binders. A nearly lost art, it is particularly surprising considering the contemporary nature of his work. The maze like images feel both like the caverns experinced when rowing on narrow Venetian canals between buildings or possibly the asphalt canyons he was exposed to when teaching in New York. In any case, it was a privilege to visit his home and a reminder to never give up the opportunity to visit an artist studio.
Enough art, it is time for lunch at the recently restored 16-th century Aman Grand Canal hotel. A magnificent building which hosts an original Tiepolo painting, old master frescoes, two gardens and some of the most beautiful Venetian chandeliers and mirrors your likely to see. Just steps from the Rialto Bridge and a vaparetto to bring you to St. Mark's Square - it is a slice of sanity - even if you just stop by for a visit.
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